It's never to late
by Chev 7
Summary: When Hinata is beaten and killed in her sleep at the hands of her own clan Naruto leaves the village and goes on a journey to try and find some peace in his life. Reviews are really appreciated and welcome.
1. Chapter 1

_I could have saved you._

Naruto watched as the shadows lazily shifted around the grave of one of his best friends, the girl...the girl with the white eyes that had saved him from both Pain and from the fear and the doubts that he had used to fear.

_I can feel so much hatred welling up in my heart. After all she did, after the way she saved me...It's not fair that she had to die like this!_

They had found her a few days ago: beaten and bruised nearly to death in her bed by her own father. When asked why, Hiashi had simply looked at them with the coldest expression on his face and had simply said that the beating was "clan business".

He could still remember Kurenai's panicked flight toward the hospital with the barely breathing Hyuga girl in her arms, Naruto right behind her.

**Flashback**

_Damn Hiashi! He's gone too far this time! _Kurenai Yuhi thought as she rushed through the trees toward the Konoha hospital with all the speed she could muster with a blonde haired shinobi with blue eyes in hot pursuit.

"Is she going to make it Kurenai-sensai?" He asked for what must have seemed like the thousandth time but in reality it was only the third. "Is she going to be all right?"

"I honestly don't know Naruto. The beating that she took was severe and was performed using the gentle fist style taijutsu. Her chakra pathways have been disrupted and I think her internal organs were badly damaged by the beating. Right now we're lucky she's still breathing."

Naruto jumped forward and looked down at the wounded Hyuga girl and felt the anger begin to well up in his chest but he quickly shoved it back down where it wouldn't interfere. Now was not the time for anger, now was the time for hope.

_I can't believe this is happening_...Naruto thought as he jumped from branch to branch. _Today was supposed to be special...Today was supposed to be the day I finally talked to Hinata about what she said during her fight with Pain._

It had taken him nearly two weeks of soul searching for him to finally come to terms with his feeling regarding Hinata and what a confusing two weeks it had been. Her worlds had echoed through his head at all hours of the night, haunting him, making him think about what she had said to him.

_Because...I love you! _

_And now she might not live to hear my response...all because one father decided it would be a wonderful night to beat his daughter. _Naruto thought sadly as he watched Hinata struggle for breath.

**Flashback ends**

In the end they hadn't even made it to the hospital before Hinata had passed away from her injuries. Just two more minutes and they would have made it. Just _two_ more minutes and Hinata could have possibly survived.

And now he was alone again. Sure everyone in the village was calling him a hero and he had all of his friends but none of it mattered anymore.

_I could have saved you Hinata. I know I could have. If only I could have warned you about what your father was planning, what the elders of the Hyuga clan were planning. I could have told you that you weren't safe with them._

He sadly looked down at the grave once again before turning around and heading home.

_I could have saved you...I know I could have..._

**Later**

He hadn't used his bed since the day she had died. He liked to think that Hinata was somewhere above him, looking down on him and watching him.

Naruto stared up at the night sky with a heavy heart as he remembered the good times he had had with the Hyuga heiress. But the image that was constantly in his head was the memory of her confrontation with Pain, her confession to him...and her near death.

_Because...I love you!_

_I failed you Hinata...it's my fault your dead...My fault._

He slowly turned his gaze away from the sky and then turned and headed back to his apartment, muttering to himself all the while.

"_I could have saved you..."_


	2. Chapter 2

**One week later**

_I hate the Hyugas_

Naruto Uzumaki stared down at the Hyuga compound from his place high on the hill overlooking the village of Konoha.

_I hate them so much. Why did they have to kill her? What possible reason could they have to kill someone like her? Someone who was strong in more ways than one._

Even as he stared down at the village below, he could tell that someone was watching him, observing him from the shadows behind him.

"What do you want Sakura?"

Sakura Haruno gently dropped from the tree she was hanging from and began walking toward him with a suspicious expression on her face.

"Naruto...I know Hinata's death hit you hard but you need to tell me what you're planning to do. If you're doing what I think you're doing...then I can't allow you to leave. Right now you're needed here more than anywhere else."

Naruto responded without turning around or taking his eyes off the Hyuga compound.

"I'm sorry Sakura...but I can't. I'm not this hero that everyone thinks I am. I couldn't bring back Sauske and I wasn't able to save Hinata from her own clan. I'm tired of this."

Sakura stopped. She had never heard those words from Naruto before. She'd never heard Naruto say anything that even remotely resembled them. Naruto continued speaking as he turned around. Sakura was startled by what she saw.

_His eyes...they look so tired and sad. I've never seen someone with eyes like his... _

"I'm tired of all these battles Sakura. I'm tired of fighting and never finding what I'm looking for. I'm tired of losing people all the time. We lost Sauske to Orochimaru and then he went and joined the Akatsuki. I'm so tired of losing."

Sakura resumed her walk toward him with unsteady steps. Was he actually thinking of letting Sauske finally go? Was he finally going to let Kakashi-sensai and the others handle the problem instead?

"I'm leaving the village...and I'm not coming back this time. I'm just so tired of all of this. I once thought I could make a difference that I could change things...but now I know that I can't. At least right now." 

Sakura couldn't believe her ears. This...this was coming from the one person who had never given up on anyone or anything before.

But here he was...saying that he was going to give up. It just didn't sound right coming from Naruto

"N-Naruto...you can't be serious. The village is depending on you! You're needed here right now. And what about team seven? You...You always say that you want team seven back together, that you wanted us to laugh together again! You can't leave!"

Naruto walked directly past her without even a glance at her. "Like I said, I'm done fighting and I'm done losing. Hinata's death changed a lot of things and team seven was one of them. I once thought I could change a lot of things, including the Hyuga clan but I was wrong. They're still the same and they killed Hinata to make sure she couldn't change them."

Before Sakura could say or do anything, Naruto ran forward and jumped into the trees and rapidly began jumping from branch to branch; he was only in her sight for a few moments before vanishing.

_I can't believe it...He managed to move so fast. I can't even sense his chakra any longer. He...He's gone. He was moving so fast...I don't think I'll be able to catch up with him. I better report this to Kakashi._

Sakura quickly turned and began running toward the village as quickly as she could.

**Hokage's office**

_I'm never going to get used to this chair_, Kakashi Hatake thought as he unsteadily tried to adjust himself in the chair that Tsunade had left him. The former hokage was still out cold after Pain's invasion of the village and now he was hokage...for now. Kakashi was honestly rooting for Tsunade to come out of her coma he didn't really like the position and would gladly give it up to Tsunade when or if she came out of her coma.

Kakashi was still trying to get comfortable when suddenly the doors of his office burst open and a panting Sakura ran in.

"Kakashi-sensai! I-It's Naruto! He's left the village! "

_Naruto...Leaving the village? That's impossible._

Kakashi got up out of his chair and slowly walked toward Sakura. "What do you mean Naruto's left the village? Tell me exactly what happened Sakura."

"H-He just told me that's he tired of it all. That he's tired of losing people. I think Hinata's death affected him more than most people thought. Sensai...I don't know what to do!"

Kakashi began running toward the door and then stopped at he looked at Sakura. "I'm going to try and track him down before he does something he regrets." Wait here. I'll be back shortly."

And with those parting words Kakashi ran out the door and disappeared down the hallway leaving Sakura with tears forming in her eyes.

_Why Naruto...how could you leave the village? How could you leave something that you once swore to protect?_


	3. Chapter 3

Even as Naruto fled he could feel a chakra aura coming toward him. It was moving fast. Very fast. And it was so familiar there was no way he couldn't recognize it.

Kakashi-sensai was coming for him.

Naruto turned and looked behind him just in time to see a white flash of white light light up the night sky behind him.

_He's closer than I thought. He must have just taken out one of the shadow clones I left behind. I did rig then with flash bombs so that might slow him down just a little bit._

Even as Naruto began to run toward the boarder faster, he could feel that the flash bomb rigged shadow clone hadn't really slowed Kakashi down at all. If anything it had encouraged the acting hokage to go even faster.

"Naruto!"

Naruto continued running even as Kakashi appeared directly behind him and shouted at him again.

"Naruto! You need to stop _now_."

_I need to get him off guard if I want to get rid of him._

Naruto quietly made a series of handsigns and five shadow clones appeared in puffs of smoke all around him, each of them taking off in different directions. Naruto knew that this wouldn't even make Kakashi slow down but he had a plan in the making.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Shadow clones usually meant that Naruto was up to something. He had already lost Sauske and he was not about to lose Naruto as well.

_What could he be planning? _

Kakashi was so fixated on Naruto that he didn't notice an orange blur shoot up from the ground and kick him up into the air

He gasped slightly as the air was forced from his lungs for a split second and then tried to get back on his guard as the other four clones appear and got into a very familiar battle formation.

"Uzumaki barrage!"

_No...I can't believe it! I was so focused on catching Naruto I didn't keep track of the clones!_

Kakashi slammed into the ground with a thud and struggled to get back to his feet. He got up just in time to see Naruto disappear into the forest ahead.

_By the time we catch up with him he'll have crossed the border and that means I won't be able to go after him. If I did I would risk starting a war. _

He had two choices. Either he could possibly keep pursuing Naruto and risk igniting a war with another country or he could simply give up and return to the village and continue assisting with the rebuilding.

_I'm the acting Hokage. I need to make sure the village is safe. As much as it hurts...As much as I may hate myself later I need to go back._

Even as he turned back toward the village, he could sense that someone was watching him. He slowly turned around and watched a familiar orange suited figure appear on a nearby tree branch.

_It's just a shadow clone. I can't sense the real Naruto's chakra which means that he's too far way for this to be real._

The shadow clone narrowed its eyes before speaking. "I'm done with this. I'm tired of seeing people die for no reason. Right now all I want is time to think and if you really are the sensai I remember, you'll give me that time."

The clone paused as if it was about to disappear but then stopped. "Oh...and it would be a waste to send the ANBU and hunter-nins after me: I plan on disappearing for a while.

The shadow clone then vanished in a puff of smoke and Kakashi was alone.

I can't believe it. Hinata's death must have affected him more than we all thought. I never thought he would actually leave the village.

Kakashi slowly turned back toward the village again and started back with a heavy heart. He had failed Sauske and now Naruto as well.

_I've failed._


	4. Chapter 4

_Ten years later_

Ten years...had it really been ten years since Hinata had died? Had it really been ten years since he had become a missing-nin?

Indeed it had been.

Naruto laid on his back staring up at the star filled night sky with a sad look on his face. It had been ten years since Hinata had died and truth be told, he had never really gotten over it. Her confession and then her death had changed him in ways that he still didn't understand. Ten years ago he thought that he knew what he was going to say to her but now...now he didn't even remember what he was going to say.

_Hinata...I miss you so much. I know that I could have saved her, I know it! If only I'd have known what the elders of the Hyuga clan were planning I could have stopped them._

Naruto continued staring up at the sky as he thought of what he could have done. He could have taken her away from the Hyugas before the attack, he could have warned her of what was to come. There were so many things he wished that he could have said and done before she died.

Despite thinking of new things he could have said every day, there was one regret that was almost constantly on his mind: The one regret that haunted his dreams at night.

He had never addressed Hinata's confession.

_I'm so sorry Hinata...I'm so sorry._

It just hadn't seemed important at the time. There was the threat of Sauske and Akatsuki. He had taken care of the remaining members of Akatsuki except for Madara Uchiha who had vanished after the fall of his organization. As for Sauske...he seemed to have vanished along with Madara and hadn't been seen since.

But they didn't matter anymore. Nothing really mattered anymore. The only thing that Naruto was focused on was surviving each day and focusing on the many regrets that he had.

Even though he had left the Hidden leaf village and had managed to get himself branded as a missing nin, there was one thing that he did once a year. Something that made him feel slightly better about the decisions he had made in his life.

He would visit Hinata's grave.

The journey usually took a few days and there was always the risk of being caught and executed but he was always able to get inside the village undetected and was then able to visit her grave. Of course, the visits always had to be made under the cover of darkness to avoid detection, but it was worth it just to be able to sit next to her grave and talk.

He would talk about anything that came to mind. Things like the weather, the battles he had fought against hunter nins, anything that he could think of.

Of course he would get no answer. Hinata was long dead and nothing was going to change that. Nothing would change the fact that he was talking to someone who had died long ago.

But it still made him feel better so he would continue to do it.

He looked up at the sky and smiled a rare smile. He didn't really have much of anything to do anymore so what harm could it do to visit Hinata a few months early?


	5. Chapter 5

_One month later_

Infiltrating the hidden leaf had been easier then he had thought it would be.

Of course it would be easy with nearly half the village out on missions. Ever since the fall of the Akatsuki there had been many small criminal organizations rising up to take its place and thus the Hidden leaf was so busy fighting they could only afford to have two guards at the gate.

Naruto didn't intend on going through the gate.

He grabbed two kunai knives out his battle worn Kunai holster and dug the Kunai into the wall slowly and carefully, making sure not to make too much noise. After all, he didn't want to bring the ANBU black-ops down on him. Not here.

He quietly scaled the wall and immediately began heading toward the graveyard where Hinata was buried, making sure to avoid houses that had the lights on in them. Even though he was trying to stay close to the shadows he couldn't help but feel that he was being watched.

_Either I'm imagining it or someone else is around here._

After a few minutes of traveling he could finally see his destination. Hinata's grave was at the very edge of the graveyard, it was always in the sun and never in the shade until darkness fell.

_It's Ironic. Her name meant sunny place and her grave is always in the sun. _

As Naruto walked toward the grave he suddenly heard voices coming from further up ahead. He quickly and quietly dove into a bush as the voices got closer.

"-not my fault! The branch family wasn't involved her death at all. It was the main family that had her killed. She was going to change the clan when she became head of the clan and Hiashi couldn't allow that."  
The first voice was one he hadn't heard in a long time. The voice of Neji Hyuga rang out in the darkness again.

"I-I only wish that I could known. It's possible I could have gotten her away in time."

Another voice added itself to the conversation. This one he had heard the last time he visited Hinata's grave. TenTen's voice was quiet and slightly bitter.

"I know it wasn't your fault Neji. It was Hiashi's fault that Hinata died."

"I should have protected her better. If I had, she might still be alive and...and I know this sounds selfish...but I wouldn't have to live with all this guilt. The guilt and the constant feeling that I failed her in her time of greatest need.

Naruto couldn't help but feel guilty as well. Hinata had confessed her love and he hadn't even talked to her about it. He should immediately talked to her after his fight with Pain but he hadn't and now it was too late.

_If I only I could take it all back...I would have talked to her. If I had felt about her the way that I do now...who knows what could have happened between us? She would still be alive._

"Like I said earlier Neji, it wasn't your fault. What happened is over and I don't want to sound cruel but there's nothing that can be done. Hinata is gone and there's nothing that can be done."

Naruto watched as TenTen took a quick look around the area. "We should get going. Lady Tsunade was going to brief us on our next mission and from what I hear we're heading out first thing in the morning. It would be good for us to get some sleep."

He watched closely as Neji and TenTen both turned away from the grave and slowly walked away, both of them had their eyes facing the ground as they walked past Naruto who was still hiding the bushes, hoping not to be seen.

_I can't believe how much her death affected Neji and the others. I know that TenTen visits Hinata's grave each year but Neji? I'm still having trouble believing it._

Naruto was about to leave his hiding spot and head over to the grave to pay his respects when suddenly a heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

_No! Not now!_ He thought as he pulled a Kunai from his Kunai holster and turned around as quickly as he could and jumped back. He was prepared to fight to the death if necessary.

But when he saw who his opponent was, the Kunai dropped from his suddenly cold hands.

_Not her...Please not her. I can't fight her._

"Naruto...it's been a long time hasn't it?"

"I'm not here to fight Sakura. I only came back to the hidden leaf to pay my respects to Hinata. That's it."

"Oh relax Naruto. I'm not going to fight you. The only reason I was out here was to pay my respects to Hinata as well."

Sakura Haruno stepped out of the shadows and walked past Naruto to place a jar of flowers on the earth in front of the grave. "It was never the same you know. After Hinata died and you left. Kakashi-sensai got really depressed; he still isn't the same as he was before you left. And Lady Tsunade...I've never seen her cry as much as she did after you left us."

"I'm not coming back to the Hidden leaf village Sakura. I made my choice ten years ago, so there's no use in trying to guilt trip me into coming back."

"Who said I was trying to guilt trip you into coming back?" Sakura asked sarcastically as she got back up on her feet. "I'm just telling you how much your decision hurt everyone."

"How could my decision to leave hurt anyone? I left because no one did anything about Hiashi. That old man committed murder and no one did anything about it. Hinata deserved better than that and you know it Sakura. She deserved better."

"You really don't have much room to talk there Naruto. She risked her life to save you from Pain, she confessed her love to you and you didn't even talk to her. Instead, you went away after Sauske without even saying goodbye to her."

Naruto just stood there, stunned by Sakura's words. He knew that she was right, that he had taken Hinata for granted but it really hurt when someone else said it.

"Your right Sakura. I took Hinata for granted. And I've been cursing myself every night for doing it. I should have talked to her when I had the chance, before the Hyuga clan made its move against her. I should have talked to her about her confession when I had the chance but I didn't."

Sakura shook her head. "At least you admitted it." She narrowed her eyes. "I'm leaving now Naruto. You have five minutes to do what you came here to do before I tell Lady Tsunade that you're here. If you're not gone by then...then I don't know what will happen to you."

Naruto smiled sadly. "What happened to you Sakura? You used to be so kind and compassionate. It couldn't have just been caused by me. Something else must have happened."

"Trust me Naruto. It was you. You left the village in of its times of greatest need and left us just because one person died."

Naruto snarled in response. "Hinata just wasn't _one_ person! She was one of the best people around here! She could always see the good in people. She was kind and generous and...Beautiful."

Sakura smiled tightly.

"Five minutes Naruto. Five minutes and then I let Lady Tsunade that you somehow managed to sneak back into the village. Use them wisely."

Sakura turned away from Naruto and began heading towards the building that the Hokage resided in. She was taking her time though so Naruto figured that she was going to follow through on her word. He turned to look at the grave and smiled slightly.

"Hey...It's been a while since I last visited your grave hasn't it Hinata-chan?"

Like Naruto expected, there was no response from either the grave or from anywhere else for that matter. Naruto smiled again. This time the smile was a bit sadder. "I beat the Akatsuki. They really gave me no choice but to fight them. So far I think only Madara and Sauske survived." He looked up at the sky and sighed heavily. "I don't have much time to talk so I'm going to make this brief."

He got down on his knees in front of the grave and then let his head hang down. "I'm sorry Hinata. I should have acknowledged you when I had the chance but I didn't. And now it's too late to say that I think I loved you. That I cared for you. That I had feelings for you. It's just too late. Nearly ten years too late."

He quickly got back up on his feet as he heard shouting out near the Hokage's building and then he heard a loud cracking noise as something was broken in half.

"Gotta go." He said quietly as he grabbed two Kunai knives out of his holster and jumped up onto the wall and dug the Kunai into the side of it so he could scale it.

He heard a shout behind him and turned around to see one of the most terrifying sights that he had ever seen. Lady Tsunade running toward him with a grim, determined expression on her face.

Naruto smiled brightly despite the fear that he was feeling and waved at her before scaling the wall and then creating five Shadow clones, each of them heading off in different directions as he ran away from the village as quickly as he could.

_That was too close. _


	6. Chapter 6

((Author's note: I actually got the idea for this chapter from a review that I received. I thought it was a great idea so I decided to incorporate it into the story. Special thanks go out to DayDreaming0f y0u for the excellent idea that got this idea off the ground and Hinakunoichi. Thank you for the reviews guys.))

**One Month later**

**A bar outside the boarders of the Land of Fire**

_I can't believe that they nearly got me. _Naruto thought as he looked down at the scars on his arm. The scars had been a parting gift from one of the ANBU blackops agents who had pursued him after his escape from the hidden leaf after visiting Hinata's grave. He had thought that five shadow clones would at least slow down anyone who was tracking him but he had been forced to fight a single ANBU agent who had managed to track all the way to the edge of the boarder that separated the land of fire from its neighbors.

_And the scars still haven't healed. I'm just glad I didn't have to fight Neji; from what rumors I've heard he's become a very powerful Shinobi. He's rumored to be almost as strong as Hiashi Hyuga. But somehow...I'm not surprised. He got really protective of Hinata after the chunin exams and Hiashi did kill her so maybe he's looking for revenge. I hope that he does kill that old man. Hinata didn't deserve to die the way she did._

He grabbed his drink and took another sip of it. It was cold as it had been sitting there for nearly half an hour. Even though he had ordered it he wasn't really that thirsty. He just wanted to get drunk and forget his problems.

_How could I have been so stupid? The village had nearly forgotten me and the ANBU and hunter-nins weren't chasing me...I was free to live my life alone but no, I had to bring attention back to myself. I had to be spotted by Sakura-chan and get chased out of the village. I have a feeling that this time they won't stop hunting me so soon._

He sighed and then stood up. It was time for him to go. He couldn't afford to stay in one place for too long. He was wanted now, and people who were wanted couldn't afford to be caught. He headed for the door and walked out into the night but turned around as he overheard a conversation near the entrance to the bar.

"Did you hear about what happened in the Hidden Leaf Village?" A tall shinobi wearing a marker that identified him as a Hidden Grass shinobi asked.

Another, shorter shinobi who was also a Hidden Grass shinobi nodded. "I heard that one of the bigger clans had some sort of internal dispute. From what I heard it was between two factions called the Main family and the Branch family."

Naruto inched closer to the door while still trying to stick to the shadows. "Aren't those the two houses of the Hyuga clan?" Asked the first shinobi

"Yes. From what I've heard tensions have been high ever since the Heiress to the clan was killed by her father."

"You have to be joking. The heiress of the clan was killed by her own father? I can't believe it. That would explain the recent infighting that everyone has been talking about. You have to wonder how the news of this got out though. The hidden leaf is usually quite good at keeping their secrets."

"You know how it is. Only one person has to talk and then the secret is out. But let's get back to what we were talking about earlier. It looks like the one who managed to convince the branch family to rise up was exiled, I think his name was Nega or Neji or something along those lines. It's rumored that he's wandering the forest east of here"

The two of them moved onto another subject as Naruto began to edge away but he stopped as he heard another conversation that captured his interest.

The second Shinobi lowered his voice before he began speaking. "You know what else I heard; I heard that the Hidden leaf village is at the brink of war with three other villages. I don't think that they'll be able to win this one."

"I thought that Konoha was on good terms with everyone a month ago. How could relations with the other villages break down so quickly?" The first one asked in confusion.

"I think it was the infighting within the Hyuga Clan. From what I heard it was one of the most powerful clans around, with the Hyuga clan weakened other villages are getting ideas. So far only the Hidden sand village is standing with them.

"Sucks to be them." The first one laughed as the two of them entered the bar. Naruto stood there. He was stunned by the thought of the village going to war again. _This isn't good_. _I need to find Neji and find out what's happening with the Hidden leaf_.

**Two hours later**

**Eastern forest**

Even as Naruto ran through the forest, he could tell that something was wrong. The birds were flying away from the forest and there were loud noises coming from up ahead_. It sounds like someone found Neji before I did._

Tracking down Neji had been relatively easy; he had simply watched the sky for birds and where they had been fleeing from. But that many birds fleeing meant one thing; Neji was in trouble. Either one of the hunter-nins had found him or an ANBU squad had.

And so he ran toward Neji's location, hoping to help him out of whatever situation he had gotten himself into. And as he ran into a clearing he saw how much he was up against.

_Hunter-nins...I can't believe they sent only three hunter-nins after one man. Of course Neji was the prodigy of the Hyuga clan so maybe they were right to send three of them after him._

The Hyuga man was steadily losing ground against the tree hunter- nins. It wasn't that he was a bad fighter, there were simply too many of them attacking from too many different locations. The three hunter-nins were constantly moving too fast for him to hit one with more than a glancing blow.

_He needs help._

He quickly summoned a shadow clone and a blue swirling ball appeared in his hand as the clone vanished in a puff of smoke as he jumped up into the air.

"Neji get down!" He shouted as Neji looked up in alarm and instantly ducked his head as Naruto's rasengan nearly struck his head, instead hitting one of the hunter-nins directly in the face, sending him flying backward into one of the trees.

Neji brought his head back up and instantly had to duck again as one of the Hunter-nins threw an exploding kunai at him which went directly over his head and lodged itself in a tree before exploding.

"Neji! You take one and I'll take one!" Naruto shouted as he ran at one of the hunter-nins and another rasengan and attempted to strike the hunter-nin with it only to have him quickly move out of the way. Naruto growled and then created a series of shadow clones even as he slid under the hunter-nin and kicked him up into the air.

"Uzumaki barrage!" He shouted as he kicked the hunter-nin up and then watched as the various clones kicked him further up into the air until the final one kicked him down headfirst into the ground, knocking him out instantly.

He turned to look at Neji just in time to see him finish off the final hunter-nin with his Eight-trigrams sixty four palms attack. Neji turned around and simply stared at him.

Naruto simply stared back at Neji. There was something different about him, something different in his face.

_His eyes, _Naruto realized with shock as he looked Neji over. _His eyes look like they've seen so many things he wants to forget. I didn't get to see his face back at Hinata's grave...I feel so sorry for him. _

Finally Neji decided to speak. "Well surprise, surprise. Neji said calmly as he looked Naruto over. "One missing nin has come to save another."

"Of course I decided to show up Neji. Your one of my friends. As soon as I found out where you were and what had happened I felt the need to show up and help."

Neji paused for a moment before speaking. "You don't care that I'm a missing-nin...an exile from the Hyuga clan. I don't care that you're a missing-nin that left Konoha."

"Neji...I heard that there was some sort of infighting between the Hyuga main and the Hyuga branch house."

Neji nodded once before scanning the area with his byakugan to make sure that they were alone. "You are correct. There was a battle between the branch house and the main house but not for the reasons that you think. We were attempting to steal a scroll from the main branch family and we were caught."

Naruto's curiosity was getting the best of him. _What sort of scroll is worth dying over? It would have to be something good if the branch family tried to steal it._

"You have to understand." Neji continued, "That this particular scroll holds a powerful secret. We don't know what it is but we have two theories of what secrets it may hold. The first theory is that is holds some type of jutsu that would allow the branch family to finally be free of the main family.

"And what's the second theory?"

"That is contains a jutsu powerful enough to turn back time itself. We were hoping that the scroll would contain the latter so we could go back."

"You have to be kidding me."

"I assure you that I am not."

"Let me get this straight...you were hoping that the scroll would contain a jutsu that would allow you to go back in time?"

"Correct."

"Just what were you planning on changing? I mean, if the scroll did contain a jutsu that would allow you go back in time what would you do?"

Neji looked down at the ground and sighed before replying. "We were going to go back and prevent Hinata's death."

Naruto was speechless. Suddenly a world of possibilities had just been laid down before him. A scroll...capable of taking someone back in time. He couldn't help but think that of what he could do with such a scroll. He could go back and save Hinata's life. He could stop the attack on her from ever happening.

Neji saw the joyous look on his face and sighed. "Naruto, getting the scroll now is impossible. It is no longer being held at the Hyuga compound. It's under heavy guard by the ANBU. Although I suspect that they wouldn't be expecting another attempt so soon after the first one last night we can't go after it. To put it simply there is no way to get it."

"But Neji, this is Hinata we're talking about! We can't just let her die! We need to go back and stop Hiashi and the main family from killing her!"

"Naruto...I agree with you, I really do. But I meant it when I said that there was no way to get it. It took nearly the entire branch family to get close to it and right now it's just me."

"Correction, Now it's _us. _Neji...if there is even the slightest chance that we could go back and save Hinata then I'm willing to take it because Hinata is worth fighting for. You know that. Now are we going to do this or not?"

Neji thought for a moment. "You know...the reason the branch family wanted to go back was because Hinata supported us. She thought that the treatment that the branch family gave us was wrong. She was on our side...and she was a friend to us. It was my self-appointed duty to protect her and I failed.

He extended his hand toward Naruto who gladly shook it. "Then it's decided." Naruto said quietly as he thought of what he could accomplish with the scroll. "We're going to steal that scroll and see if we can bring Hinata back."


	7. Chapter 7

((Thanks to everyone who reviewed **It's never to late**. I really appreciate everyone that took the time to review it.))

**One day after the battle with the Hunter-nins**

The hour of battle was finally at hand. In a few short hours the prodigy of the Hyuga clan and the former Sage of the Hidden leaf would be infiltrating the Hidden leaf to steal a scroll that would hopefully allow them to turn back time itself.

However...They had to wait for one last piece of information before attempting to steal the scroll.

"Neji...are you sure TenTen is on your side? It's been nearly four hours and I still don't see any messenger hawks."

"I'm positive that she's on our side Naruto. She was the one who told us where the scroll was the first time and I'm positive that we can trust her."

"How did she know where the scroll was the first time anyway? It seems a bit hard to believe that a Jonin would know where a scroll that powerful would be located. This smells like a trap to me."

"TenTen has her ways Naruto. How do you think she became such a successful jonin? She has ways to getting people to say things they normally wouldn't say. She has to ways of doing it. She starts up a conversation and eventually she is able to make her target slip up and reveal something that the target didn't mean to."

Naruto waited patiently but Neji didn't continue. "And the second way...?" He asked.

"I...Well...There is a reason she is being considered to be part of the ANBU. She has a way with her weapons that would make most people cringe."

Naruto continued looking up at the sky, after a few minutes he saw a small dot on the horizon heading toward them. "Neji! Look to the east!""

Neji looked up from sharpening his Kunai knives and watched as the hawk came in closer and closer before it finally landed on the ground in front of him. He reached out and cut the note that was tied to its leg and eagerly grabbed it. He eagerly read over it before letting out a whoop of joy.

"TenTen got close enough to the scroll to see what it really was! It's the scroll we've been hoping for! We're going to be able to go back!"

Naruto let out his own whoop of joy as a bright smile lit up his face. "What else does it say? Where is the scroll located at? How many people are guarding it?"

Neji waved one of his hands dismissively as he continued to read the letter. "The scroll is being moved to some sort of storage warehouse that is under constant heavy guard by ANBU agents. It looks like that there are only three ANBU blackops guarding it. With Konoha at the brink of war, three ANBU is all they must have been able to spare."

_This is too good to be true. Only three ANBU. Neji and I can easily take on three ANBU agents with all the training we've put ourselves through these past ten years._

Neji began to think as a plan came to mind. "It looks like we're only going to have one shot at getting the scroll before it's under guard. Now...we need to intercept the scroll before it gets to the warehouse if we want to go back and keep Hinata from being killed. Now...I think that the best place to set an ambush would be the middle of the road between the Hidden leaf and the warehouse. That way they'll be cut off from reinforcements."

"Unfortunately, TenTen's letter came with some bad news. There is supposedly a very powerful ANBU in the group. I have the ability to see the chakra system with my byakugan so leave that one to me. Your job is to take care of the other two ANBU."

"Got it. Just out of curiosity are there any instructions on how to use the jutsu?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. But the catch is that this jutsu takes quite of time to use. It also takes quite a bit of chakra to use. We'll talk more about how to use the jutsu later. Right now the goal is to steal the scroll and then cover our tracks so they won't be able to find us."

"Understood."

Neji nodded at him and then took off into the trees with Naruto right behind him.

**Two hours later **

As they ran through the trees and jumped from branch to branch in an attempt to catch up with the ANBU agents, Naruto couldn't help but grin. He had been given a second chance. A second chance to put things right. But then a sudden thought came to mind.

"Neji...if we do this then won't we be altering history?"

Neji kept moving without even looking back. "Yes, that is the desired result of this mission. Look at the world right now Naruto: Konoha is on the brink of war with three other villages, and the heiress of the Hyuga clan has been dead for nearly ten years. I think that whatever changes we make are worth it."

"Yeah." Naruto said quietly as he thought of Hinata. "I think they're worth it to."

Neji suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and Naruto stopped on the same branch that he was one. "There they are." Neji whispered.

Naruto quickly looked around and then finally spotted the group of ANBU agents running below them in the forest. "Naruto, you take the weaker two of the three and I'll take the one holding the scroll. "Hit them...now!"

Naruto and Neji both dropped out of the tree, Naruto already had a rasengan spinning in his hand and slammed it directly into the stomach of one of the ANBU agents who was running on the side of the one holding the scroll. He then turned his attention to the second ANBU who was now alert and was pulling out a handful of Kunai knives. Naruto quickly made a series of handsigns and five shadow clones appeared. Just as the ANBU threw the kunai at him, Naruto slid under him and kicked him up into the air and then watched as the other clones kicked him up further into the air before the final clone kicked him down toward Naruto who had just formed a rasengan in his hand and slammed it into the stomach of the ANBU just as he was coming down.

_Heh. That's a combination that could prove useful in the future_, He thought as he kicked away the out-cold body of the ANBU agent away and then turned to look at Neji who had just been knocked away from his opponent and had landed on his back.

"I could use some help Naruto!" Neji shouted as he quickly jumped back to avoid a series of kunai knives that the ANBU had thrown at where he had landed a moment ago. Naruto summoned a shadow clone and then formed another rasengan in his hand and ran at the ANBU only to have him move out of the way just before it hit.

"Hit him Neji!"

"I'm doing my best!" Neji shouted back as he attempted to attack his target using the gentle fist style only to have his opponent dodge nearly every attack, only taking a single glancing blow to the shoulder.

Naruto growled and was about to try and form another rasengan when he had an idea. He quickly made a series of handsigns and five more shadow clones appeared. The clones immediately attempted to swarm their opponent only to be immediately wiped out, however, the puffs of smoke obscured Neji until he was nearly on top of his opponent and by then it was too late for the ANBU agent to do anything.

"Eight Trigrams! Sixty four palms!" Neji shouted to the night as he struck his opponent over and over the precise strikes of his gentle fist technique. The ANBU agent slowly toppled backward and fell on his back and his mask popped off his face as he hit the ground. Both Naruto and Neji couldn't believe their eyes once they saw who their opponent was.

"I don't believe it...It's Kiba." Naruto whispered in a shocked voice. Neji could only nod at Naruto's statement. "I never knew that Kiba joined the ANBU."

Neji shook his head as he looked down and saw the scroll that was still tightly clenched in Kiba's left hand.

"We've done it Naruto...we have the scroll. Now we need to get as far away from here before the ANBU squad wakes up." 

Naruto nodded once before replying. "I know a part of the forest that should mask our scents. It's near where I found you actually so we don't have that far to go. It's maybe a two...three hour run from here."

Neji nodded once and then Naruto took off with Neji following after him with the scroll still tightly clenched in his hands.

_I'm coming Hinata_...thought Naruto with a grin on his face. _Don't worry; I'm coming to save you._

((Authors Note: The updates won't be coming as soon as I'd like. Expect a few days delay in it getting out.))


	8. Chapter 8

**((This is going to be a shorter chapter than usual. But I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. And I would like to thank Shinobi no Ryu for his constructive criticism and dark-lelu for the review. Thanks all.))**

**Two days later**

They were hidden for now. But eventually they would be found. Especially if Naruto wouldn't stop shouting in anger and frustration.

"What do you mean only one of us can go back? I thought that we could both go back!"

"Don't blame me Naruto! It's not my fault that this is a two man jutsu. The instructions are clear. One of us has to sit or stand in the middle of a series of carefully prepared markings drawn in blood. Then the one who stays behind makes a complicated series of handsigns and slams his hand down on the ground and then...that's it."

"What if I use a shadow clone? If I do then we could both go back!"

Neji slowly shook his head. "The jutsu requires too much chakra. Far more than a shadow clone uses. Only one of us can go."

"Then who is the one who plans on staying behind? Right now nearly all of the Hidden leaf's ANBU are looking for us and if they find us then we'll be in trouble. Especially if we're in the middle of the jutsu."

"Which is why we need to execute the jutsu as soon as possible. The last time we checked the ANBU were getting close to finding our trail. It's only a matter of time until they find us. So you need to go back and get your younger self to go and stop Hinata's death. Remember, you need to find your younger self and my younger self and convince them to either stop Hiashi or get Hinata somewhere safe. You cannot directly interact with the timeline itself, you can only interact with your younger self and my younger self and convince _them _to alter history."

"But what about you Neji? What happens if the ANBU go after you once I'm gone?" Naruto asked quietly. "Right now they're out in to retrieve the scroll at any costs which means that they won't hesitate to kill you."

"It's a risk that I'm willing to take. Hinata must live if we want to change anything. If this works...then the timeline we know won't exist and will hopefully be replaced with a better one."

"I agree. The risk is worth it but what happens if this doesn't work?"

Neji smiled a very tight smile. "Then you will be stuck in the past and I will most likely be killed either by ANBU or hunter-nins."

Naruto grinned at him. "If we have even the slightest chance of saving Hinata then I agree. The risk...any risk is worth it."

"Then we are in agreement. We should begin the preparations immediately. I suspect we have an hour at most before the ANBU pick up our trail.

Naruto nodded as he bit his finger and began to make markings on the bare ground in blood. He particularly didn't like using blood in the art of ninjutsu but if this worked, he would not only have a chance to see Hinata again, but he would possibly be able to save her life.

**One hour later **

The markings of blood were completed and Naruto was standing in the very center of the seals. Neji stood behind him watching for any signs of pursuit with his byakugan. Unfortunately...signs of pursuit were what he saw.

"Naruto...we have at least five ANBU agents heading toward us. I estimate we have three minutes before they reach us," He said as he ran over to one of the seals and looked over at him.

"Remember...You can only interact with my younger-self and your younger-self. You must not allow anyone else to see you. You need to remember where you were the day Hinata was killed and focus that image in your mind. That is how you will arrive at the correct day and time."

Naruto nodded once and slowly thought back to the day the Hyuga heiress had died. He had been on his way to see her; he had been walking slowly to give himself time to think of what to say regarding her confession and had at the gates of her home when Kurenai had blasted past him with Hinata in her arms.

_Just a bit earlier...All I need is around fifteen minutes earlier. What was I doing fifteen minutes earlier? That's right! I was just leaving. Which means I should get my younger self just as he's walking out the door and pull him back in. But that leaves the question of where Neji was...Oh right. He was on a mission. Wait! He was on a mission? _

"Neji you idiot!" He shouted as Neji was about to bring his palm down on the ground. "You weren't in the village that day! You were on a mission!"

Neji cursed violently when he heard Naruto speak. _Damn he's right! I was in the Village hidden in the waves that day! How could I have forgotten? And there are only ten seconds left before the ANBU get here!_

"Naruto..." He said quietly. "It's up to you then. Find your younger self and save Hinata. You must not fail or we will be doomed to repeat this again."

Naruto was about to argue with Neji when he brought his hand down on one of the markings that was closest to him. A line of pure blue chakra immediately shot out from under his hand and lit up the rest of the markings. A beam of pure white light surrounded Naruto as his body began to vanish just as the ANBU squad appeared.

The leader of the ANBU squad quickly made a series of handsigns and a massive fireball shot toward Naruto only to be stopped by Neji who interposed his body between Naruto and the fireball. He shouted out in pain as the fireball slammed directly into him just as Naruto vanished in a burst of light.

_He made it...good._

He slowly turned around as the rest of the ANBU squad pulled out their kunai knives and slowly circled him.

_And now...just to make sure they can't follow him back..._He pulled out an exploding kunai knife and then jumped up on a tree branch overhead as he threw the kunai directly at the center of the markings just as the ANBU squad jumped as one after him and watched as the center of the markings exploded, taking with it any chance of the ANBU pursuing Naruto into the past.

He jumped back to the ground near where the markings had been and dropped into a Hyuga battle stance and grinned at the oncoming ANBU who were cautiously trying to flank him. "Come now...don't tell me that you're afraid of the prodigy of the Hyuga clan."

_It's up to you now...Naruto,_ he thought as the ANBU charged.


	9. Chapter 9

((Thank you Bookimp for the review. I really appreciate it.))

**The past**

**Ten years ago**

A bright flash of light flashed in Naruto's apartment just as the door that led to the outside slammed shut. Naruto stepped out of the light and looked around in confusion. It had been a while since he had even thought of his old apartment and the area was a bit unfamiliar.

_Damn it! He just left. Here's to hoping that nobody sees me,_ he thought as he ran down the stairs and opened the door and watched his younger-self stretch as he stared up at the sky with a smile on his face. This was the day his younger-self was going to finally talk to Hinata.

_He won't get the chance if I don't warn him, _He thought as he grabbed his younger-self and pulled him by the back of his neck back into the house.

His younger-self attempted to turn around angrily only to stop short once the elder Naruto let go of the scruff of his neck.

His younger-self couldn't help but stare at the older Naruto and frankly the elder Naruto couldn't blame him. He had collected his fair share of scars on his face and arms over the past ten years. The younger Naruto finally managed to gather his senses and voiced the question that his older-self had been expecting ever since he had heard of the scroll that could send him back.

"W-Who are you?"

The elder Naruto looked down at him. _How can he not recognize me? I was once him. We both still have those whiskers on our faces._

"There's not enough time to explain all the details but I will say one thing: Right now Hinata is in danger and you are the only one who can possibly save her."

Naruto still stared up at his older self with his mouth wide open. He still couldn't believe it. This man looked like an older version of him. Sure the clothes were different and he had more scars on his face. The older Naruto sighed heavily.

"I'm not going to lie. I'm you from the future. Around ten years from now. On this night, Hinata Hyuga will be murdered in her bed by her father and a few other members of the Hyuga main family. Now I've come back in time to tell you so you can prevent it. I can't directly interfere in the timeline but I can warn you of what's to come."

"What do you mean Hinata is murdered? When? How? And why?"

The elder Naruto grabbed his younger-self by the scruff of his jacket and lifted him off the floor before speaking. He made sure to keep his words slow and clear."Listen to me very closely. Hinata is going to be murdered _tonight_. By her own clan. The reason she's murdered is because she wants to change the Hyuga clan. Now do you understand?"

The younger Naruto nodded fearfully as the older Naruto finally set him down on the ground and mockingly patted him on the head.

"Like I said I can't directly interfere with the timeline but you can! You can still save her! All you need to do is either get her out before Hiashi and his men attack or fight it out with them. Knowing Hiashi's skills in combat you might want to go for the first option."

"I don't understand. Why can't you do anything?"

"Because those are the rules kid. I can't directly interfere but you can. Now get going! I'll be waiting here for you once you're done."

Naruto was about to argue when the realization finally hit him. Hinata was...going to die. Tonight. The night he was going to talk to her about her confession.

"HINATA!" He screamed as he ran out the door and took off for the Hyuga residence as quickly as he could. Panic was running through his mind as he ran and then jumped onto one of the tree branches overhead and began jumping from branch to branch as quickly as he could.

The older Naruto watched his younger-self run off and then looked at the clock. There was only four minutes left until Hinata would be attacked. He cursed Hiashi for attacking his daughter and then cursed himself for not arriving sooner.

He sighed heavily and sat down in one of the chairs in the kitchen of the small apartment and silently prayed that his younger-self would reach Hinata in time. If he didn't, all that he and Neji had fought for would be for nothing.

**Hyuga residence **

**Three minutes later**

Hiashi Hyuga entered the bedroom of his daughter as silently as a ghost. His footsteps could not be heard as he and the others walked toward her bed. His fists were glowing with blue chakra as he activated his byakugan and targeted the chakra points of his daughter.

_What I am about to do is for the good of the clan. The current system must continue if the clan is to survive. The main family must rule and the branch family must serve. I am sorry my daughter, but you are too dangerous to be allowed to live. You threaten the way things are._

Hiashi pulled one of his hands back and was preparing to strike one of her vitals when suddenly an orange blue shot through the window and slammed directly into him, sending him flying backward into the wall and waking up Hinata who jumped out the bed wearing only her nightgown.

"W-What's going on here?" She asked her father, unaware that he had come to room to end her life. "Father...what are you doing in here?"

One of the shadows at the end of her bed turned to her; she could almost sense the panic the figure was feeling. "Hinata! You need to run! Your father is here to kill you! Get out of here! Get out of here now!"

_Naruto-kun? What's he doing in my bedroo- Wait...did he just say that father was here to kill me?_

Hiashi slowly loosened himself from the wall and then ran at Hinata and attempted to hit her using the gentle fist style. "F-Father? What are you doing?" She shouted as she managed to dodge his first opening strikes.

"You are a danger to the clan my daughter." Hiashi said calmly as he continued to try and hit her only to be parried by her own gentle fist techniques. "You wish to change the old ways and that cannot be allowed. You are to be killed for the greater good of the clan."

Hinata jumped backward and started at her father in shock. Naruto was right...he was actually trying to kill her. Her own father was trying to kill her.

"Hinata! Snap out of it and get out of here!" Naruto shouted as he knocked out one of the Hyugas attacking him by head butting him as hard as he could and then turning to the last remaining Hyuga who had positioned himself in a battle stance. "Move Hinata!"

Hinata positioned herself in a battle stance and shook her head. "No..."

"What are you talking about? You're no match for him. I probably couldn't even take him! Just get out of here now!"

"No. I am tired of my father always putting me down; always make me feel bad about myself! It's time to stand up to him!"

Hinata positioned herself into a battle stance and then charged at Hiashi who countered her attack by unleashed a barrage of lighting quick strikes to her chest, she managed to avoid the first few but was then knocked back by the last two. Hiashi jumped up into the air and attempted to finish her off by bringing both of his hands down on her chest only to have her roll out of the way.

"Don't give up Hinata!" Naruto shouted as he head butted the last remaining Hyuga clan member beside Hiashi and then took the Hyuga man and then slammed his head into the wall. "Don't you dare give up!"

Hinata jumped back and two blue orbs of chakra appeared in her hands, the chakra then took on the shape of a lion's head, one in each hand.

Naruto ran toward Hinata and shook his head. "Hinata, please listen to me! I was warned that he would kill you tonight! Please, let me help you, after what I heard that man say. Please...let me help you."

Hinata's fist lost their glow and she turned to Naruto with a confused look on her face. _What man is he talking about? I don't see anyone else here._

Naruto ran to at Hiashi and managed to land one blow to his stomach before Hiashi managed to send him flying backward with a barrage of gentle fist punches to the stomach. He slammed into the wall before staggering back to his feet.

Hinata activated her twin gentle lion step technique and slammed one of her fists directly upside Hiashi's head who countered it with a gentle-fist strike to the neck. Hinata gasped in pain while Hiashi showed no visible sign of being injured.

_Father is strong...very strong. _

Hinata brought one of her fists up and was deflected by Hiashi's gentle fist technique. Hinata was beginning to learn why her father was still the leader of the Hyuga clan.

"Give it up daughter. You can't beat me. Simply surrender and accept the end." He said calmly as he struck her upside the head. Hinata collapsed to the ground with a thud. "HINATA!" Naruto screamed as she hit the ground.

"Y-You killed Hinata." Naruto mumbled as he staggered toward Hiashi, his eyes took on a red tinge and his teeth began to grow sharper. "She told me that she loved me...and I never got to give her an answer because of you!"

Hiashi...for the first time in his life felt something that he was not familiar with. He had only felt it twice in his life.

Fear.

Naruto snarled at him and then grinned a predatory grin that made Hiashi's blood turn to ice.

"I'm gonna kill you." He snarled.

((I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Don't worry, there's going to be a happy ending. But sorry if this chapter isn't as enjoyable as the others. I sort of rushed it.))


	10. Chapter 10

**((Thanks to Hinakunoichi and DayDreaming0f y0u for the reviews. Thanks, I really appreciate it.)) **

Hiashi Hyuga knew that he was in trouble as he looked over the transformed Naruto with his byakugan. The boy's chakra had turned a deep red color and he was very concerned about the level of chakra coming off the boy. This fight had just gotten quite a bit more dangerous. If he wasn't careful, he might even lose his life.

The transformed Naruto snarled at Hiashi and ran at him. Hiashi raised his hands in a defensive stance but Naruto hit him with a punch that sent him reeling back against the wall.

"You killed Hinata!" The transformed Naruto roared as Hiashi got back to his feet and hit him with a strike to the chest that only managed to drive him back a step. Otherwise he showed no other indication that he had been hit. "Tonight was the night Hinata was supposed to get her answer! But you took that away from her!" Hiashi ran at him and hit him with a lightning fast barrage of punches that he was able to mostly avoid; only taking a few hits to the stomach."

"My daughter was a threat to the clan!" Hiashi shouted back as Naruto ran at him and tried to hit him with an uppercut only to have Hiashi barely dodge it. "I made sure that she would not corrupt the clan! With her in charge there would have been nothing but chaos!"

Naruto finally managed to get in under his guard and managed to send him flying up into the air with a powerful uppercut to the chin. "Hinata saved my life during Pain's invasion! And you still killed her! What right did you have to take her life away?"

Hiashi landed on his knees and staggered back to his feet. He was bleeding from the mouth and from a gash under his chin where the uppercut had hit him. This boy's power was almost exactly equal to his own. But he could almost sense something underneath the chakra, something malicious...something dangerous.

"I had every right!" Hiashi retorted as he gasped for air as one of Naruto's strikes struck him in the stomach. "I am her father!"

Naruto snarled in rage as he heard Hiashi's words. "You're the worst possible father there is! What kind of father kills his own daughter?"

"A father who had the best interests of the clan at heart." Hiashi said calmly. "A father who knew that his daughter had to die so the old ways of the clan could survive." Naruto snarled again at his words and ran at him and attempted to slice him with a Kunai knife only to have Hiashi dodge Naruto's attack again. Hiashi then retaliated by hitting him directly in the chest with all of his strength behind the attack, sending Naruto flying backwards into a wall. He slammed directly into it and landed in a heap besides Hinata.

Naruto huffed and puffed heavily as he attempted to draw breath as he staggered back to his feet just in time to see Hiashi slowly advancing toward him. "You have interfered in matters that do not concern you. You should have left when you had the chance. Now you will die."

_No...I won't die...not now! Not to this horrible excuse of a man!_

Naruto slowly got to his feet and stared at Hiashi. "I won't die. Not to you...You murdered Hinata, you murdered someone who loved me and that is something that I'll never forgive."

Naruto ran at Hiashi who confidently attempted to strike him only to have Naruto jump over his head and then kick him in the back. Hiashi was unprepared for the force of the blow and was sent flying into the already damaged wall making an imprint in the wall. Hiashi got to his feet and looked him over again with his byakugan.

_Same level of chakra, same amount of chakra coming off the boy. What could possibly be different that he managed to hit me so hard?_

Before Hiashi could react, Naruto was behind him again and kicked him up in the air before jumping above him and then kicking him back down to the floor which nearly shattered under the force of the impact.

Before Hiashi had the chance to get up, Naruto gripped him by the throat and lifted him up and stared him directly in the eyes even as Hiashi unleashed a series of pinpoint strikes to his chest. Naruto dropped him to the ground and clutched at his chest in agony.

Hiashi simply stared at him and then lifted Naruto up by the throat. "I was going to make your death painless but you simply don't know when to stop. For your crimes against the Hyuga clan your death will be made as painful as possible."

"Not today Hiashi!" A voice shouted from the window. A dark figure dropped from the tree outside the window and slowly moved into the light. A figure with flowing black hair and a handful of kunai knives in both of her hands.

Kurenai had arrived.

"This does not concern you Kurenai. You have no business interfering in Hyuga clan matters. Leave now or suffer the fate that these two will suffer."

"Hyuga clan business becomes my business when you try to murder one of my students." Kurenai said angrily. "I'm going to tell you one last time: Leave Hinata and Naruto alone and I won't have to hurt you."

"You think highly of your chances against the head of the Hyuga clan." Hiashi commented as he dropped into a battle stance and charged at her. Kurenai easily dodged the first strike and managed to scratch his face with one of her handful of Kunai before nearly being hit by one of Hiashi's gentle fist strikes, she jumped backward and then threw of the kunai at him only to have him easily dodge it.

"What seems to be the problem Kurenai? You know you can't use Genjutsu against me, my byakugan can see through it. All you have are your tools and they are not enough to stop me. Leave now and you will survive. But your student must die for the good of the clan."

Kurenai simply ran at Hiashi in response and landed a devastating barrage of punches to his chest and stomach at the same time that Hiashi managed to land a devastating hit to her chest. They both went down in pain clutching their chests.

"You need to stop this Hiashi." Kurenai gasped as she held her chest. "Let them go."

Hiashi rose to his feet still clutching his chest and limped over to the two who were still lying on the ground and he raised his fists and brought them down, one on each of them as he hit them directly in the hearts.

And then the calm expression that was on his face abruptly vanished as the two bodies vanished in two puffs of smoke.

_Shadow clones!_

"While you were fighting Kurenai-sensai, I managed to get back up and I managed to hide Hinata. You won't be harming her anymore. Not after I'm through with you"

Hiashi scanned the ceiling with his byakugan, he didn't see the attack coming from underneath. Naruto slammed through the floor with a rasengan that was tinged with red that sent Hiashi flying up into the roof headfirst and then he landed on the floor besides the hole in the floor in a heap. Naruto turned to Kurenai and slowly limped toward her.

"Kurenai...sensai...Hinata was badly injured...I thought she was dead, she needs to get to a hospital now!" Naruto gasped slowly. Hiashi's relentless attacks on him from earlier were slowly beginning to catch up on him. A few of his chakra points had been sealed and his internal organs had been badly damaged.

"Where is she Naruto? I can get her there soon if you tell me where she is."

Naruto grinned weakly at her before collapsing to his knees. "I...hid her outside. In the tree branch outside...the window." He muttered before finally collapsing on the floor.

Kurenai grabbed Naruto and tossed him over her shoulder and then looked out the window to see Hinata laying on one of the tree branches outside. Her breathing was slow and labored. Kurenai put Naruto down on the branch and looked over at the two of them, she could only carry one of them and Hinata was the more seriously injured of the two of them.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I need to get Hinata medical care now," she said sorrowfully, "I promise I'll send someone back for you, but until then you have to hold on!"

Naruto grinned and nodded once. All that mattered was that Hinata was alive, for now at least. So far he had managed to avert the future that his older-self had warned him about.

_Hinata...please live_, he thought as he managed to get to his feet and limped after Kurenai as quickly as he could.

((Fear not, it's not the end of the story. There are probably...two more chapters at most. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.))


	11. Chapter 11

**((Thanks to dark-lelu, KantonKageX and Hinakunoichi for the reviews. I really appreciate them.))**

**Hyuga residence **

Hiashi Hyuga slowly struggled to his feet as two additional main family members ran into the room. They had anxious expressions on their face. "Lord Hiashi! What happened to you?" the first one asked in confusion. Hinata's room looked like a warzone. All of the windows had been smashed and there were numerous kunai stuck in the wall. One of the walls had a large hole in it.

"I was attacked during my mission to get rid of my daughter." He said calmly. "Right now we need to pursue Hinata and her sensai. They know what happened here tonight and must be stopped."

Hiashi jumped out the window and onto the tree branch with the two Hyuga main family members directly behind him. "Be on the lookout for the Uzumaki boy as well. He attempted to rescue Hinata earlier and must pay the price. He cannot be allowed to report what he has seen to the Hokage.

"As you command Lord Hiashi," the two Hyuga members said together. Hiashi scanned the area ahead of him with his Byakugan and saw Kurenai running around a mile ahead.

"Kurenai is approximately one mile ahead of us. When we catch up we must not give her a chance to attack. We must kill Hinata at all costs. She threatens our very way of life." Hiashi said with not a hint of regret in his voice.

**En route to the Hospital**

Kurenai looked behind her in alarm as she heard footsteps getting closer and closer to her. She couldn't defend herself, not while carrying Hinata and she wasn't about to drop her on the ground or anything like that. She began to run faster and faster as the footsteps behind her got closer and closer.

_Damn it! Hiashi must have woken up sooner than I thought he would have. And I can't defend myself or attack while I'm carrying Hinata! It looks like I might not be able to get out of this one._

The footsteps were alongside her now and she opened her eyes expecting to see Hiashi Hyuga besides her and instead saw Naruto running alongside her. His eyes were strange though.

_He must be in sage mode. But he was so badly injured the last time I saw him, he could barely move. What could have changed?_

Naruto grinned and pointed down at his stomach that held the seal that held the Nine-tailed fox deep inside him. "Fox chakra." He said with a grin on his face. "I let enough of it loose to repair the damage that Hiashi did. Although it's not going to fix the damage he did to my chakra lines and my internal organs. Right now I'm at about half-strength but it should be enough to take on Hiashi."

"So he really is following me. How many men does he have with him?"

"My shadow clones were only able to detect two of them before they were taken out. I'd advise you to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Don't worry; I'll delay Hiashi for as long as you need me to."

Kurenai noted that Naruto had said _delay _Hiashi instead of _stop _Hiashi. "Naruto...you need to come through this. Hinata opened her heart to you and I think it would honestly kill her if you died. Promise me...Promise _her_ that you'll make it out of this."

Naruto looked down at the unconscious Hyuga girl in the arms of her sensai and then gently reached down and stroked her hair once before turning back to Kurenai. "I promise that I'll make it through this Kurenai-sensai." He looked down at Hinata and smiled weakly. "I promise you Hinata. I promise I'll defeat your father and make it through this alive."

Kurenai nodded and began speeding up as she heard a couple sets of footsteps coming up from behind. She looked behind her just in time to see Naruto jump under one of the branches that Hiashi was about to land on.

_Good luck Naruto...and remember, you promised her that you would make it through this._

Kurenai continued running toward the hospital even as she heard the first sounds of combat beginning behind her.

**In the forest**

Hiashi watched calmly as he got closer and closer to Kurenai. Only a few more feet to go and the Hyuga clan would we safe from change. His Byakugan was locked in on her and thus didn't see the orange flash shoot up from beneath him and slam him up into the air. Naruto immediately spun around and slammed a rasengan into the stomach of one of them sending him flying toward the forest floor. The second Hyuga man managed to get into a defensive stance and attempted to attack Naruto only to have Naruto dodge the attack.

"My turn." Naruto said calmly as he launched a devastating flurry of punches at the man's stomach, the man winced repeatedly in pain until he finally blacked out from the pain and fell off the tree onto the ground.

Now it was down to Naruto and Hiashi who were facing each other from opposite tree branches. Hiashi's calm expression was rapidly becoming one of rage and anger

"Why do you seek to protect Hinata?" He shouted angrily. "She must die for the good of the clan! The Hyuga clan has always been the strongest, the oldest and most powerful clan in the Hidden leaf! And yet you try to protect my daughter who would destroy that all!"

"Hinata wants to change the clan not destroy it!"

Hiashi snarled as he ran at Naruto. "The way she plans to change the clan will destroy it!" He shouted as he jumped into the air and attempted to hit Naruto on the top of his skull using his gentle first technique only to be repulsed by one of Naruto's punches.

"You won't hurt her Hiashi! You won't hurt her again! I'll make sure of it!" Naruto shouted as two shadow clones appeared and began forming a very familiar attack.

Naruto ran at Hiashi as a large spinning rasengan appeared in his hand, the rasengan then began to grow points and moments later a rasenshuriken appeared in his hand.

"Rasenshuriken!" Naruto shouted as he jumped into the air at Hiashi as Hiashi jumped up into the air and positioned his hands in an offensive stance. "Hyuga art: One hundred gentle punches!" He shouted back as his hands began to glow blue and he began to strike Naruto with a series of devastating punches just as Naruto's rasenshuriken slammed into Hiashi sending him flying back toward the forest floor. Since he wasn't at full strength the attack didn't do as much damage as he hoped but Hiashi flew backward into the ground and lay still just as Naruto collapsed on the ground next to him. He gasped in pain as currents of pain shot through his body.

_That...last attack did too much damage I think...I broke my promise to Hinata...NO! I won't die! I won't die! I promised Hinata I would make it! I will make it!_

Even as he began to pass out from the pain he saw a pair of boots appear directly in front of him. He couldn't tell whose boots they were.

And then he passed out from the pain.

((Author's note: Sorry, this chapter was a bit rushed due to the fact I didn't have much time to work on it. I still hope that you enjoyed it. Next one should be better if I have enough time to work on it.))


	12. Chapter 12

**((First of all, thanks to Dark-lelu, Riku Uzumaki, Shinobi no Ryu, DayDreaming0f y0u and cute amy for the reviews. I really appreciate them))**

Naruto felt a boot poking him in the stomach as he finally managed to wake up and looked up at someone who was obscured by the shadows.

"Did you manage to save her?" The shadowy figure asked him in a very familiar voice. The figure stepped out of the shadows and revealed itself to be the elder Naruto.

"H-Hiashi..." the younger Naruto muttered. "He attacked us...Hinata was badly injured; I don't know if she's going to make it. I fought Hiashi..." He grinned as he pointed down to the impact zone where Hiashi had hit the floor and smiled as he saw the Hyuga leader laying on the ground out cold.

"You did good kid. I don't think he'll be getting up from that one anytime soon." The elder Naruto commented as he pulled out a kunai and advanced toward Hiashi with a cold look in his eyes.

"Wait. What're you doing? What are you planning to do with that Kunai?"

"I plan on ending this threat to Hinata's life once and for all. With Hiashi dead, Hinata won't have to worry about anyone from within the Hyuga clan trying to kill her ever again." The older Naruto replied harshly.

"W-Wait...you can't just kill him! Let the ANBU take care of him! If you kill him...I don't think Hinata would ever forgive you. Hiashi is still her father and what you are going to do is murder. The Village won't stop hunting you if you do this."

The older Naruto simply shrugged and smiled. The smile seemed a bit...off. "Truth be told, I've been wanting to avenge Hinata's death for nearly ten years. And what better way to do it then by killing her killer? I'm sure that someday she'll thank me for it."

The younger Naruto shook his head. He couldn't believe that he might grow up to become a killer. "Don't do it. I know that Hinata can see the good in everyone but I don't think that even she would be able to forgive this. This is her father that we're talking about! You can't kill him despite what he's done!"

"This man killed Hinata from where I'm standing! He murdered her in cold blood and didn't even bury her! Her sensai had to bury her! This man deserves to die!"

The younger Naruto snarled at his older self. "You managed to prevent her death when you came back! Killing this version of Hiashi won't accomplish anything! He won't bother her anymore, not after we tell Lady Tsunade what he tried to do!"

The older Naruto reluctantly put away his Kunai knife and turned to look at his younger self. "I'm willing to give your theory a chance. But if Hiashi even bothers Hinata again, I won't hesitate to kill him. And that's not a threat, that's a promise."

"Right now Kurenai-sensai is taking Hinata to the hospital. We could visit her if you wanted to," the younger Naruto suggested slowly. "I know you told me that you can't interfere with the time stream but I don't think that a visit could do any harm. Especially if she's asleep."

The older Naruto paused for a moment. A chance to see Hinata again. A chance to apologize for failing to save her the first time around, a chance to apologize for not getting there in time. It was too much of an opportunity to pass up.

"I...I do want to see her. I think I need to see her. To apologize for what happened the first time around. I would never be able to forgive myself if I didn't at least check on her."

The younger Naruto staggered to his feet and motioned the older Naruto over to him. "Listen, right now we don't even know if she's still alive but I have a feeling that she might be."

"And what makes you think that?"

"I-I don't know. It's just a feeling. But Hinata is really tough. She was able to fight Pain and survive."

"You have a point. But Pain wasn't able to use gentle fist abilities. That type of jutsu is especially dangerous and Hiashi isn't the head of the Hyuga clan for nothing. He is very gifted at using the gentle fist techniques."

The younger Naruto motioned the older one over to him. "Right now I can barely walk, I'm going to need someone to carry me to the hospital and since you're the only one around the job falls to you."

The older Naruto smiled briefly and then hoisted the younger Naruto up on his back and began running toward the hospital as fast as he could.

"So...what is Hiashi like in the future? Is he meaner or stronger or something? What kind of shape is the village in?"

"In the future...Hiashi is a cold and uncaring man. After he killed Hinata he trained her sister to take her place as future head of the clan but she refused after she found out what happened to her sister. So Hiashi exiled her from the clan. He still leads the Hyuga clan from what I heard. As for the village...where I come from it's on the brink of war with three other villages. So far only Suna is standing with the hidden leaf."

"What about Neji? It doesn't seem like him to let Hinata just die. He must have done something!"

"Neji was out of the village when Hinata was murdered. In fact he should still be gone for another few days as of now. But believe me...Neji didn't take her death sitting down. He trained for nearly ten years so he could eventually get revenge on Hiashi but he never got to fight him. Instead he did something else."

"What? What did he do?"

"The main family was developing a new jutsu so that the village could go back. Neji and the branch family attempted to steal it but they failed the first time. Neji was exiled after that. He was under attack when I found him, I helped drive away his attackers and we began working together. We both wanted the same thing but for different reasons. I wanted to bring Hinata back because I never got a chance to talk to her...he wanted to bring her back because of the guilt that he was feeling and because he felt that if she had lived things might have been different."

"So...what happened to your Neji?"

"He...stayed behind. He was the one who activated the jutsu that brought me here in fact. When we were about to activate the jutsu we had an ANBU squad on us. I don't know exactly what happened to him but I think he managed to destroy the seals that brought me here since none of the ANBU were able to follow me here. I...honestly think he died fighting the ANBU squad."

The younger Naruto stopped talking for a moment. He was shocked by what he was hearing. Neji had turned against the Hyuga clan ten years after Hinata's death?

"I always thought Neji would allegiances would always be with the Hyuga clan. I guess I was wrong."

"I thought so as well. Which is why I was so surprised when I found out. I wish...Neji could have come back with me. I know seeing Hinata would have really meant a lot to him."

The older Naruto motioned to the younger Naruto that they had reached the hospital. "You'll have to go in," the older Naruto whispered. "I'd bring to much attention. Find out what room Hinata is in and once you're in send a shadow clone to let me know."

The younger Naruto grinned and slowly slid off the back of his older self and walked into the hospital as his older-self slipped away into the shadows.

"Excuse me." He asked the nurse. "Could you tell me what room Hinata Hyuga is in?"

"She just got out of surgery. Kurenai was lucky that she was able to get her to us in time. Right now she's in room 430. You can visit her but please be quiet and be brief. The poor girl needs her rest."

Naruto nodded his thanks and walked toward her room. He stopped outside the room and took a deep breath before grabbing the door and opening it.

((That's the end of the chapter. Thanks go out to everyone who's current reading this.))


	13. Chapter 13

**((Thanks go out to Hinakunoichi, dark-lelu, mindcaster15, Riku Uzumaki, usuiXOXOmisa, psyoran, KantonKageX, hypnotic flames and cute amy for the reviews. Thanks everyone! I apologize if I missed anyone.))**

**Konoha hospital**

Naruto slowly walked into Hinata's hospital room and stopped short when he saw how bad of shape she was in. She had bruises all over her arms which were showing due to the hospital gown she was wearing.

_It looks like Hiashi managed to do more damage to her then I thought. But at least she's going to make it. My older-self should be happy about that. Time to let him know that it's safe for him to come in._

He moved to the window as quietly as he could so he wouldn't wake up the sleeping Hyuga girl and quietly opened the window and created a shadow clone which slipped out the window. A few moments later the older Naruto jumped up on the branch and crept into the room. He looked down at the sleeping Hyuga girl and tears quickly came to his eyes.

"Truth be told...Even after Neji and I stole the scroll that allowed us to come back, sometimes I honestly thought that I would never see Hinata alive again. But now I see how wrong I was. She's safe and she's alive."

He turned to his younger-self and frowned. "I know that you used the rasenshuriken against Hiashi but what I can't figure out is how he survived it. That attack was strong enough to take out someone in one hit and yet he managed to survive it."

"I only used it at half-strength. I was already pretty beaten up by him and had exhausted quite a bit of chakra fighting Hiashi earlier. I barely had enough to form the rasenshuriken and finally take him out. I may not like him but I'll say this about him: He's tough. Really tough."

"The Hiashi from my time is supposed to be even stronger. I never fought him myself but from what I heard he was strong enough to supposedly give a few members of Akatsuki a run for their money. Of course by that time I had already wiped out most of Akatsuki so they were most likely rumors only."

Both the younger and older versions turned to look at Hinata as she stirred slightly in her sleep. "N-Naruto-kun..." she muttered sleepily.

The older Naruto looked at his younger-self and a sad look came over his face and tears began to form in the corners of his eye. "All those times I heard her say that...I thought she was just weird. I just wish I could have figured out her feelings toward me sooner. Maybe...she wouldn't have died in my future. But that's enough talk. Since Hinata has lived here she should still be alive in my future."

"I hope that she is. You came back in time to save her; you deserve to see your version of Hinata again."

The older Naruto leaned down over the covers of her bed and let the tears that were threatening to break loose. He could simply no longer contain the tears.

"I'm sorry Hinata," he said quietly as the tears began to fall on Hinata's blanket. "I'm sorry that I wasn't around to protect you the first time around. I'm sorry that I never noticed you before Pain attacked the village and I'm sorry that I made you wait so long for my answer to your confession."

The tears simply wouldn't stop as he leaned over and lightly kissed her on the top of her head and the tears began to fall on her face. She stirred slightly in her sleep and the older Naruto hurriedly pulled his head back from hers so that he wouldn't wake her up.

The younger Naruto was curious. "So what happens now? You warned me in time so that I could save Hinata and I doubt that Hiashi is going to try and mess with her again. How do you plan on getting back?"

The older Naruto sighed. "I don't know what happens next. I'm going to be honest with you; I'm not sure how I'm supposed to get back. Neji and I didn't have time to figure out how I was supposed to go back. So...I don't know what to do."

The younger Naruto was stunned by his words. He felt sorry for his older self. To have come back so far and not have a way back home. It was horrible.

They both turned to look down at Hinata who was beginning to stir in her sleep again. The older Naruto sadly looked down at her. "I guess I should be going," he said simply. "I accomplished what I set out to do. I'm going to see if I can live out the rest of my life in this time period without screwing up the future too much."

The older Naruto slowly stepped toward the window only to have his younger-self grab him by the shoulder. His eyes were filled with anger. "You're just going to leave her? You're not even going to talk to her?"

"I can't! Don't you understand that? That would possibly interfere with time and I don't know what would happen if I did that! For all I know it could send me home or I could die!

"N-Naruto-kun? What's going on?" A very familiar voice weakly asked. The older Naruto slowly turned around in shock.

_Could she have woken up already? But...with her injuries she should have been out for a much longer amount of time. This isn't good._

Hinata Hyuga was staring at him with her eyes wide open as she rapidly looked between the older Naruto and the younger Naruto.

"N-Naruto-kun?" She asked in shock as she finally looked at the older Naruto and didn't look away. Her face was a myriad of expressions raging from confusion to shock.

"H-Hinata-chan. You're awake." The younger Naruto said in shock. "I-I guess I have some explaining to do huh?"

Hinata didn't answer as she fainted away.

((Two more chapters or so to go and we're done. Thanks to everyone who has read the story so far. Sorry that this chapter was so short.))


	14. Chapter 14

**((Thanks go out to Riku Uzumaki, DayDreaming0f y0u, Hinakunoichi and hypnotic flames for the reviews. I really appreciate them.))**

**Konoha hospital**

**Five minutes later  
**

Hinata stirred in her sleep as she slowly began to wake up from her fainting spell. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled up at a face that was looking down at her. Naruto is here...Wait. Who's that? She thought as her smile turned into an expression of confusion. _Two...There are two of them!_

The older Naruto held up his hands to show that he wasn't holding any weapons and gently smiled down at her. "It's okay Hinata-chan...I'm not here to hurt you. In fact, I came here to save your life."

Hinata simply stared at him. He looked so much like the Naruto she knew but this one...this one had a few scars on his face and his eyes...they seemed so sad and lonely.

"W-Who are you?" she asked cautiously. There was no telling who or what this man was. It was best for her to be on her guard.

The older Naruto grinned. "I really don't blame you for being suspicious. I would be suspicious as well if the same thing was happening to me but I would like it if you would at least here me out. Will you let me explain Hinata?"

Hinata looked over at the younger Naruto and then looked at the older one before nodding. Even though she didn't trust this man who looked like Naruto she was curious about him. The older Naruto pointed over at his younger-self and smiled at Hinata who blushed slightly.

"Same old Hinata..." the older Naruto said quietly as he looked over Hinata, he clenched his fists as he saw the bruises on her. "I'm him. Around ten years from now. I came back to save you Hinata."

"Save me? Why did you need to save me?"Hinata asked in confusion. She was still slightly confused by what he meant by "Coming back."

The older Naruto took a deep breath before speaking. She deserved to know the whole truth. "In the future, the Hyuga clan managed to create a scroll that would allow someone to come back in time. I was the one who came back obviously but there was a problem, I couldn't change any past events by myself but I could warn my younger-self of what was to come."

"But why did you come back? And why did you warn Naruto-kun?"

"Because...where I'm from...you died. Your father succeeded in his attack on you. I was on my way to your house to talk to you about what you said during Pain's attack on the village but I didn't make it in time to either stop the attack or get you away from Hiashi."

_All I would have needed was five minutes...if only I had made it to Hinata's house five minutes earlier she would have lived and so many mistakes wouldn't have been made. _He thought as he watched Hinata's expression turn from confusion to sadness.

"In the end, your father refused to bury you and Kurenai-sensai was forced to. I was at your funeral that day...I stayed there until night fell. After that...I left the village. I couldn't take losing any more people so I became a missing-nin and left the village.

Hinata was shocked by what she heard. A future version of Naruto had come back in time to save her. It was almost too much for her to take in.

"For ten years I visited your grave on the day that you died. I would talk to your grave. But since I was a missing-nin I couldn't stick around for long. In fact I was nearly caught the last time I did it." The older Naruto chuckled slightly. "You should have seen the look on Lady Tsunade's face when I jumped that wall. I think she honestly would have beaten me to a pulp if she would have caught me. But enough of that."

"I came back in time earlier tonight and immediately told my younger-self what was going to happen. I haven't had time to ask him what happened so I don't know exactly what happened but I'm going to guess that he tried to fight your father off before you were injured or killed. Judging by the bruises he has all over him I'm going to assume that he failed. Of course he did redeem himself by managing to delay your father long enough for Kurenai to get you to the hospital."

Hinata's eyes went wide when she heard what had happened to her father. "Y-You didn't kill him did you? Is my father still alive?"

The younger Naruto frowned and then pointed at the older Naruto accusingly. "_He_ wanted to kill your father but I managed to talk him out of it. He really hates your dad Hinata."

"I have a right to hate him! He killed you in my future! There's no way I can ever forgive him for what he tried to do to you here and what he did to you in my future!"

The older Naruto sighed and tears returned to his eyes as he turned away from Hinata. "I never got to tell you how I felt about you Hinata...The night I tried to, you died and I spend ten years regretting not talking to you sooner. I cursed myself for not figuring out my feelings sooner and I spent ten years regretting missing you for all those years I could have noticed you and didn't."

His voice went down to a whisper and the tears continued to flow freely down his cheeks. "I fell in love with you Hinata...the night that I was going to talk to you I was going to tell you that I loved you...but that was taken from me."

Hinata slowly turned to the younger Naruto who also had tears flowing down his cheeks. "Naruto...is that true?" She asked gently.

The younger Naruto slowly nodded yes and began to sob. "That was the reason I was heading over to your house tonight Hinata...I wanted to tell you how I felt but I almost didn't get the chance thanks to your dad."

Hinata was shocked. She had almost never seen Naruto cry before. She reached up towards the older Naruto and gently pulled him down towards her and held his head close to hers. "Thank you...for saving my life." She whispered as he held the weeping older version of Naruto close to her head. "You saved my life...for that I'll always be grateful."

The older Naruto pulled away from her and smiled down at her. "You have no idea how relieved it makes me feel to hear you say that." He said quietly as a while light began to surround him. The younger Naruto quickly pointed to him.

"W-What's happening to you?"

The older Naruto looked down at himself and smiled. He had a good idea of what was happening. "I think I'm going home. I hope...I'll see you there Hinata." He said in an even quieter voice as the light finally took him and he vanished.

"W-Where did he go?" Hinata asked as she looked around in confusion. There was no trace of the older Naruto anywhere in the room.

Naruto smiled and placed his hand on top of Hinata's. The Hyuga girl blushed heavily. "I think he went home." Naruto said as he looked down at Hinata.

((One more chapter and we're done. Thanks go out to everyone who's reading the story.))


	15. Chapter 15

**((Thanks go out to Riku Uzumaki, Hinakunoichi****, ****dark-lelu, KantonKageX, Mr. Destructo, Cute amy and DayDreaming0f y0u. Thanks for the reviews))**

**Konoha hospital**

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The last thing he remembered was talking to Hinata about his feelings for her and the...nothing. He took a quick look around the room that he was in. He could tell that he was in a hospital room, that much was clear. But what he couldn't understand was why he was there. He was still wondering why when he noticed that he was laying on a hospital bed.

"So...you're finally awake." A relieved sounding voice said. Naruto turned his head around to see Lady Tsunade looking down at him with a relieved looking expression on her face. "You've been out for nearly five hours after the surgery."

"What surgery? What happened to me?"

"We didn't realize how badly Hiashi managed to beat you. You actually collapsed at Hinata's bedside due to your internal injuries and she began to scream for a medic. We immediately took you into surgery. Turns out both of your lungs were badly bruised and you had internal bleeding due to his gentle fist strikes not to mention of many of your chakra points were hit. We spent the better point of six hours fixing you up."

"Hinata..." He asked quietly. "Where's Hinata?"

"Look to your left." Tsunade said with a smile as she pointed out the Hyuga girl who was sleeping peacefully in her own bed. "Hiashi tried to get her back while you were in surgery but we wouldn't hand her over, not after what her sensai told us what he had tried to do to her."

_Thank you Kurenai-sensai_... he thought happily. "So...what's going to happen to Hinata's dad?"

Tsunade sighed deeply. "Unfortunately...we can't do anything to Hiashi than keep Hinata away from him. He is no longer allowed to go near Hinata and you are no longer allowed to go near Hiashi. You managed to do a good number on him Naruto. He had two fractured ribs, bruising all over his face and some slight internal damage."

_Good. That idiot deserved it._ Naruto thought.

"What's going to happen to Hinata? Where is she going to be staying?"

"As of now she's going to be under the protection of the ANBU-blackops as well as Neji Hyuga until she recovers. After that...well it's her choice as to where she wants to go."

_Neji's back? I thought he was going to be gone for a few more days._

"Neji is back already? I thought he was out on a mission."

"One of the Hyuga clan branch members sent out a messenger hawk. From what we're guessing they were already on their way back. There's no other possible way that he could have gotten here so quickly. He ran into the village nearly five hours after the messenger hawk was sent out. Look out the window."

Naruto slowly looked out the window and saw Neji Hyuga staring back at him from the tree branch outside the window. Naruto waved nervously at him. Neji simply stared back. Tsunade let a smile loose. "He's been there since he got back to the village early in the morning. One of his teammates has been bringing him food since he refuses to leave until Hinata is out of the hospital."

Naruto looked Hinata over once again and reached out to grab her hand which was hanging loosely from the side of her bed. She mumbled a bit in her sleep and blushed slightly.

"I need to ask you something Naruto? How did you manage to get to Hinata at time? According to what I heard, you were seen leaving your home and then someone dragged you back in and then you left again a few minutes later and immediately began running toward the Hyuga compound. Now...I'm going to assume that someone warned you about what was going to happen, someone who knew what was going to happen to Hinata that night. I'd like to know who and why they didn't come to me."

_Damn it. Someone saw the older version of me drag me back into the house. This is going to take some explaining._

"I...Uh...I...can't really explain that."

"Can't or won't? And please don't say won't. Naruto, this is an important question. I need to know the answer so I can talk to this person."

"I'm sorry but I can't answer that question. All I can tell you is that the person who warned me is gone now. And he won't be coming back anytime soon."

Tsunade sighed. "I guess I'm not going to get anymore then that out of you?" Naruto grinned at her despite the pain he was feeling and nodded. "In that case, I'm going to head back to my office and write up the report on this."

Tsunade got up from her chair and began walking out only to turn around and look at the two of them. "You need more rest Naruto, don't worry...Hinata is in safe hands. And if Hiashi does do anything...I'll take care of him myself."

Naruto grinned and laid his head back on the pillow. He was still tired but he refused to let go of Hinata's hand. He smiled at her as his eyes began to close. "Don't worry Hinata-chan...I promise I won't ever leave you..." He muttered as he fell asleep.

**The future**

**Ten years later**

The older Naruto awoke with a start as he realized that someone was staring at him. Someone was up in his face and staring him directly in the eyes.

_ABNU interrogator_. He thought immediately as he reached for a kunai knife from his kunai holster only to find that both his kunai holster and thus the kunai knives were missing.

As he felt around for his kunai knives he couldn't help but notice that he was laying down, he had a blanket covering him and there was a warm body next to him. _Alright...this obviously isn't what it seems to be. _

"Wake up...Wake up." A female voice sang out happily. "I want dango for breakfast!"

""No Natsuko..." the voice next to him muttered sleepily. "You can have dango for lunch. Just grab some cereal for breakfast. I'll be out to help you in a few minutes."

Naruto opened his eyes to see a small girl with blue eyes and blonde hair staring him directly in the eyes. _Natsuko...my daughter_. He thought in amazement as the memories began to run through his head.

"Yay!" Natsuko shouted happily as she ran into the kitchen and Naruto winced as he heard a plate hit the floor and shatter to pieces. "I'll get it." Naruto said sleepily.

"I'll come with you." The voice next to him said gently. _Please be Hinata, Please be Hinata_...the older Naruto thought desperately

Hinata Hyuga but now known better as Hinata Uzumaki as the residents of Konoha now called her sleepily rose from the bed she and Naruto shared and slowly walked into the kitchen. "Natsuko! What have I told you about getting your bowls from the high shelf?"

"Don't do it!" Natsuko replied happily. Hinata sighed and Naruto walked in behind her and ruffled Natsuko's hair. "C'mon Hinata, don't be so tough on her. She's just a kid."

Hinata sighed and then smiled down at her daughter. She couldn't stay mad at her for long. "Alright. Natsuko, finish your breakfast and then off to the academy with you."

Natsuko laughed happily and then proceeded to quickly devour the bowl of cereal that Hinata placed in front of her before grabbing her bag and running out the door.

Naruto and Hinata both watched her leave and Hinata sighed. "She's quite the handful. Maybe we should let her train in the gentle fist techniques with Neji so she can burn off some of her excess energy."

"I don't think Neji is ready to train with her for awhile. Remember what happened the last time she trained with him. He nearly had a heart attack when she popped out at him. I still can't believe she managed to scare him that badly."

Naruto grinned. She had inherited a few certain traits from her father and the Byakugan from her mother. Naruto sighed and wrapped his arms around his wife. "I think that it's time I get going. Being the Hokage does have its cons. The con being that I have to be away from you all day."

Hinata let a smile spread across her face. "And being your assistant does have its advantages. I get to see you whenever I want to see you."

Naruto smiled and looked out over the Hidden leaf from the top of the Hokage's tower. The hidden leaf was at peace along with many of the other great nations of the world.

_And it's all thanks to my younger-self. He managed to succeed where I failed._ He thought as he continued looking out over the village.

**((Let me know if I should delete the future Naruto part or keep it. Also, do you want me to continue this series?**


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